The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation recently announced that Mesa Mayor John Giles has been appointed to the federal committee charged with guiding the widespread adoption of electric vehicles across the country.
Mayor Giles, the only mayor and elected official, is among the 23 members of the Electric Vehicle Working Group (EVWG), a collection of EV industry, automotive, policy experts and leaders who will make recommendations directly to the secretaries of Energy and Transportation.
"With extreme weather events and rising temperatures becoming more and more common, it's more important than ever that we take steps to significantly reduce carbon emissions. Vehicle electrification not only reduces our impact on the environment, but it also lessens costs in city government and creates high-tech and high-wage jobs," said Mayor Giles. "I'm proud of the steps Mesa and Arizona have already taken to embrace EVs, and I look forward to furthering that work as a member of the Electric Vehicle Working Group."
Mesa has emerged as a magnet for advanced manufacturing and supply-chain innovation in the EV marketplace. The City of Mesa is also developing a communitywide Electric Vehicle Charging Master Plan that will guide decisions on policy and infrastructure investments that accelerate the transition to EVs.
The EVWG will focus on facilitating the adoption of electric vehicles among low- and moderate-income individuals and underserved communities; assessing the costs of vehicle and EV battery manufacturing and shortages of raw materials for batteries; identifying charging infrastructure, grid capacity, and EV cybersecurity needs; addressing grid capacity and integration and identifying charging infrastructure regulatory issues.
The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation was created through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to strengthen collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Transportation to deploy a national network of electric vehicle chargers, zero-emission fueling infrastructure and zero-emission transit and school buses.
Arizona is home to a thriving marketplace of EV and battery manufacturers, research and development centers, suppliers and a competitive talent pipeline. And Mesa is at the epicenter of this growing ecosystem, home to the following: Cirba Solutions, Li-Cycle, Urbix Resources, Exro Technologies, Hyundai Transys, Nxu and others.